TEXAS financier R. Allen Stanford, charged with running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, could get stuck with a discount-rack legal defense team.

That’s because the 59-year-old son of a barber, arrested by the FBI in June and charged with operating a $7 billion fraud, can’t convince the Feds to release enough money to pay for the high-priced legal talent he wants to hire.

Just last week, Stanford’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, sprinted for the exit because he wasn’t getting paid. The court, though, is forcing DeGuerin to stay until someone else can be found. That someone might be Robert Luskin, of Patton Boggs, in Washington, D.C., but he, too, will not guarantee legal work unless he gets paid.

The Feds feel the $10 million Stanford wants to pay for his defense is way too much –plus, his victims may rightfully be entitled to the money.

The tussle over cash is a common battle for people accused of financial fraud, said Brad Simon, a defense attorney in New York. At best, Stanford will be allotted a modest amount of cash to hire an attorney, but he’s unlikely to be able to retain the high-profile legal teams he’s hoping for, experts say.

Of course, Stanford could render this entire clash moot by pleading guilty to some reduced charges.

Storm bet

Hurricane season has been mild so far — but people who want to bet money on where the next big one will hit can now just go online.

Weather-specialization company Weather Risk Solutions launched a new service last week that lets people use sophisticated tracking maps to bet money on where hurricanes will land.

So people who are worried their homes may be destroyed by the next Katrina can at least take consolation in the prospect of a big payday.

And the new service acts like an office football pool, so unlike a traditional option contract — which is how bets on weather patterns are usually made — purchasers avoid the hassle of having to locate a seller.

But not anyone can participate. The service is currently limited to big investors, like pensions and wealthy people, although WRS is trying to make it available to the broader public, said a spokesperson.